Lebanon and Jordan score well on scale-up index

When start-ups have gained a considerable amount of traction, are generating revenues and see their customer base grow exponentially, they are often referred to as scale-ups instead. They are not fresh, new start-ups, but are ready to scale within the same country or move into other countries in the region.

Although scale-ups only make up roughly 5.4% of all small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) worldwide, they can have large implications for a country’s economy, as they could turn into a worldwide conglomerate – think of Facebook, Airbnb, and Netflix. These scale-ups and conglomerates contribute a large amount to a country’s economy, which is why it is very important that a country supports these early-stage companies in order to reap the benefits later.

A recent study by Strategy&’s think tank, the consulting firm part of the PricewaterhouseCooper network, and Endeavor indicated that both Lebanon and Jordan rank ahead of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of scale-up readiness. Pointing to the importance of scale-ups, the report also found that successful scale-ups in the Middle East generate more than three times the revenue and eight times more jobs on average than regular SMEs.

Learn more about the scale-up readiness index, and why Lebanon and Jordan surpassed Saudi Arabia, here.